1972 Porsche 914

Up For Auction is a “Highly Modified” and “Highly Restored” 1972 Porsche 914.

It can easily be an every day “Daily Driver” but in reality it is a “Garage Queen” for me.

This is a PERFECT car for someone who wants a Highly Modified and Restored 914 wants to choose their own Engine and Paint Color - but does not want to go through the pain suffering frustration working out the “Bugs” and the time and expense of doing it yourself.

To make a long story short…..

I did Everything possible to improve the performance/handling using the best possible parts

(one example is the use of Hollow Torsion Bars – at much greater expense – than the solid units. Another example is Cryo Treated Slotted Brake Rotors instead of just slotted rotors)

Also you can get in it and drive cross country without worrying if something will break down. It is “Good to Go”

The ONE exception to this is there is a “sticking fuel injector” that sometimes sticks (only during start-up) for the first minute or so of running – then acts normally.

I do NOT plan to fix this because whoever buys this car will not be buying it for the original 1.7L stock engine.

If the buyer wants to keep the stock motor – they can buy new injectors

My “Ground Rules” when building this car was for it to look “stock” – the one exception being wheels.

Stock Porsche wheels would have “performance limitations” due to the higher profile tires of the era.

It really wasn’t that bad restoring it because doing that was my hobby. Anyone who has built a car before can understand that.

This project started on 3-29-2000.

I have a detailed Spread Sheet of EVERYTHING Done on this project including dates prices part numbers vendors diagrams schematics wiring diagrams descriptions and receipts (in a Loose-Leaf binder)

The Reason I am Selling It…..

My Other Car was a Highly Modified 1982 Mazda RX-7 and I recently sold it also on Ebay to someone in Sweeden.

Cars have been my primary hobby for over 30 years. I never thought I would sell either one of my cars. I built them both assuming I would Keep Them Forever.

But……

Things change and I no longer want or need any “Specialty” cars.

I have a Toyota that gets 40mpg that I use to commute. I now live in Mexico but I have a hotel on the U.S. Side where I keep my cars and some furniture – and get a few more hours of sleep before work.

I plan to exclusively live in Mexico in a year or so – and I do not plan to take anything more with me so I have some time to find a buyer for this 914 – pretty much my last possession to sell.

To start with I looked at 14 914’s before I found one with almost no rust. That was where the Project Started.

I then stripped it down as much as possible so I could find the rest of the rust and luckily – there was no other rust problems than the two spots I already knew about. They Were Repaired Professionally.

I then started to put the car back together in a way that I would not need to do another restoration in the future.

Before I Started the 914 Restoration I drove it for a few weeks.

The Brakes were so bad it was scary.

It shifted so bad I thought something must be wrong.

All the others I test drove were the same way or worse and I wondered about that.

I took it to a Porsche shop that works on many 914’s and they said “The Shifting and Brakes on the car are normal and are actually very good”. (My highly modified RX-7 spoiled me)

Luckily there was a fix for both those problems because those problems are so unacceptable – I would not want to drive a factory stock 914..

The Restoration:

The Details are in the spread sheet below are some of the Highlights

The Brakes:

All 4 Brake Rotors were NEW Cryogenically treated Slotted.

Of Course All Wheel Bearings Seals Larger Master Cylinder Brake Lines Fluid Reservoir and ALL other brake parts were NEW also.

Front Calipers were replaced with NEW BMW320i Calipers and Pads.

These BMW Calipers are 30% Larger than the Stock 914’s so the Rear Brake Proportioning Valve was removed and replaced with a “T”.

(The “Front to Rear” braking ratio is very close to stock even without the Brake Proportioning Valve because of the larger front calipers.)

Rear Calipers were Completely and Properly Rebuilt with NEW Pads all around of course.

The Emergency Brake works Perfectly (A rare thing for a 914)

All Brake Lines were replaced with Steel Braided Teflon Lines.

The Stock 17mm Brake Master Cylinder was replaced with a NEW 19mm Unit. Even the Fluid Reservoir and the Fluid Lines to the Brake Master Cyllinder were replaced with new parts.

The Brakes are Completely Done and they are GREAT.

The 914 “Brake Problem” was Completely Solved.

Transmission and Shift Linkage:

The Shifting was “914 Normal” but totally unacceptable to me – I was use to modern Japanese Cars with Tight Precise Shifting.

I Started restoration by converting from a Tail Shift Tranny to a Side Shift.

Internally to the Tranny I wanted EVERYTHING to be NEW. The Rebuilder convinced me that all the Gears were near perfect and it would be silly to change them. EVERYTHING Else Was replaced (One of the hard to find bearings was $500 by itself)

Critical Components were Magnafluxed to look for stress/strain points.

Patrick Motorsports Did the Transmission Rebuild. They were expensive – but I don’t do Trannys and I wanted it done correctly.

They also make a custom Shifting Linkage for their Race Cars that is Truly a Beautiful Piece no Bushings to Wear Out.

I Can’t Imagine Why Porsche did not do it that way.

Rebuilding The Tranny and Installing the Linkage cost $8K JUST FOR THE TRANNY AND LINKAGE.

The Tranny was built with a “Beefy Intermediate Plate” which makes it good to 300HP.

I planned to put a Mazda Rotary engine in it – but I started “giving up on the car hobby” before I got to the engine upgrade.

Short Shifter Kit Installed.

This is typically a bad thing to do with a stock linkage because it magnifies problems with “slop” but with this tight and precise Patrick Motorsports Linkage – it is a big improvement in shifting feel and enjoyment.

Shifting is no longer like “Rowing a Boat” - as on a stock 914

Drive Train

The stock “Open” Differential (in the tranny) was replaced by a NEW Quaiffe “Torsen” Differential.

The rear CV Axles were replaced with NEW Units along with ALL the Hardware.

The original plastic Clutch Cable Idler Pulley was replaced by a stronger unit that does not flex - eliminating clutch slop.

The Tunnel.

This is a horrible place to do anything!! It is a very tight space with almost no access. It often has rust. Mine only had mild surface rust – perfect for a POR-15 treatment.

The Tunnel is now good for the rest of the 914’s life – it is

coated with POR 15 internally.

Also in the Tunnel is the Fuel Lines. I got the best German Fuel Line I could get and replaced the old fuel lines.

The Tunnel is Finished – you will never need to worry about it again.

Gas Tank

I Removed The Gas Tank had it cleaned and coated on the Inside and Powder Coated on the Outside.

I Removed some Surface Rust from the Gas Tank Pocket and painted it.

Front Sway Bar

While the Gas Tank was out I installed a Front Sway Bar

(21mm High Performance Hollow Front Sway Bar bolted on then Welded)

This was a very hard job even though it looked easy. But the good part is – it is done and you never need to remove the gas tank for any reason ever again.

Fuel Delivery System

I will never understand the ridiculous Factory Porsche Fuel Pump and the nest of fuel lines blowing in the wind under the engine.

I replaced the Leaking Porsche Pump with a Walbro (What I have been using in my RX-7 for years).

Now the Pump Filters and Fuel Lines are neatly mounted along the Firewall and no more hoses hanging through the air.

ALL Fuel Lines were NEW.

Air Handeling System

In the Cowl Area where the Blower and the Air Manifolds are…..

That was all removed cleaned and repaired – that nightmare area will not need attention for the next 20 years.

While I was suffering in there I also rebuilt the Wiper Linkage Motor and assembly and the blower motor too.

Another thing you will be happy to never need to do.

Foot Pedals And Controls

Of Course a new Clutch and Accelerator Cable was Installed as well as taking apart and rebuilding (With NEW Parts) the Pedal Cluster. This was also a very difficult and time consuming thing to do.

The Rotting Wood Cover for that area was replaced by a new Aluminum Piece. You no longer need to feel like your feet will go through the floorboard it now feels rigid and can never rot out.

Windows

Power Windows were installed. A nice comfort that did not really add any additional weight.

It is a stock 1.7L with good compression. The Engine is functional and reliable along with the stock Fuel Injection (except for the sometimes sticking injector at start-up issue I previously mentioned).

The engine was one of the two areas I did not address yet in the restoration – because it was working fine and the priority for change was low.

Exterior

The other area not yet addressed is Exterior Paint – if it was me I would paint it.

Now I’m glad I didn’t yet address these two points because the buyer can pick the color and engine he wants – or he can just drive it as is until a decision is made.

Other Exterior:

- The Roof was Recently Re-Done.

- Rear PORSCHE Reflector was installed.

- The Expensive and hard to find Roof Seal (Rear Of Roof) was replaced so no more squeaking.

- Most Door Window Seals Replaced.

- Many Other Rubber Body Seals Replaced.

- Antennae Hole of Front Fender Filled in and ready for final sanding.

- All 4 Targa Top Latches are there as well as the 4 supports (to store the Top) in the Rear Trunk – and all work fine.

- The Two “Dents” in the car door were repaired and ready for final sanding.

- Odyssey Battery (A $300 Battery) Relocated to the Rear trunk With Battery Isolation Switch. I wanted to move the Battery to the Front Trunk But Running Heavy Cable (In a pretty and neat way) was too big a project at the time. Since Then I ran Heavy Gauge Wires to the Front Trunk (in a very pretty and neat way). At this point just mounting the Battery in the Front Trunk is all that is needed it probably would be a slight handling improvement by shifting more weight up front.

Add Up what it would cost you to put a car like this together.

My Receipts add up to $34K and I did almost all the work myself

The Cost Of The Re-Built and “beefed-up” Tranny Linkage and Interior Of the Car is approximately the Starting Price Of This Auction.

Actually in just the last 8 years I have put over $20K in to this car.

I say “new” in many of the above descriptions. Let me explain..

The First few years of the project was repairing the rust the gas tank area restoration air handling system restoration and things like making the doors windows wipers headlights and front and rear trunk working properly.

The Transmission Linkage Total Suspension and Drive Train Interior Seats Carpet Seals and Roof were done about 8 years ago.

I call all of this “new” because there is certainly less than 5000 miles on these parts. And until the last 6 months the car was stored in a garage. Now it is in a parking lot with a Car Cover (Also Included)

I almost always drove my RX-7.

So I estimate 5000 miles AT MOST on the parts I call “New”.

I have no idea how many miles are on the car. When I bought it the speedometer was broken. It didn’t matter to me because I would replace EVERYTHING with “new parts” anyway.

The Speedometer was not yet replaced – it still does not work.

But – Already installed and attached to the Tranny is a Sender unit (about $150) for an Electronic Speedometer.

I planned on replacing all dash instruments with modern ones the buyer can decide if he wants to also do this or keep it stock looking inside. All instruments and warning lights work - except for the speedometer.

I also Permanently installed a Cyllinder Head Temperature Gage along with a Voltmeter – Essential instruments that the 914 did not have.

It’s a BLAST To Drive!!

When I took it for a valve adjustment last year the mechanic said “I’m a 911 guy and typically don’t like 914’s – but yours feels incredible to drive”

Some Highlights:

- Chassis Stiffining Kit.

- New Renegade Hybrid Modified 914 Seats.

- Dash Cover

- Haargarn Carpet / Mats (about $600 for material – the best carpet I could Find)

- Power Windows

- NEW Ignition Lock

- Boxed / Powder-coated Trailing Arms

- NEW Later Model Front Struts

- ALL New Suspension Bushings

- NEW Rear Axles / Hardware

- NEW Springs / Shocks / Torsion Bars

- COMPLETELY Rebuilt tranny (even the hard to get $500 Bearing)

- Beefy Transmission Intermediate Plate to handle more power.

- Torsen Differential

- Cryo Treated / slotted Brake Discs

- Jack Hole Covers (Usually missing on 914’s)

- New Clutch / Accelerator Cable

- 912E Alternator (70A) and Regulator (More Available Power for Power Windows A Future Car Stereo High Performance Ignitions or other engine goodies the stock 35A alternator would not handle that)